Click Here to go to Odyssey Main Page

Chris

L.A

11/29/01

"OW! Get off my hand!" Charlie yelled at me.

"Sorry," I said shifting my weight.

It was 1200 hours and still nothing. My name is John Kern I am in the 101^st Marine division. S.A.S, they call us I don't know why but I think we're Scud hunters. Who knows?

We're on the outskirts of the Afgain city of Kabul watching the main road for suspicious vehicles. There’s not many men in our division. There’s Sarge, Scotty, Charlie, Matt and me. "Well I think we’ve got one." Charlie said aloud, we all rushed over to see.

"Heck with that, its just a truck!" Scotty said.

The truck was olive drab with well-worn tires. The shape of the truck was a long skinny rectangle. There was a green canvas cover over the back half. "That’s the truck boys." Sarge said "And we have to follow it all the way."

I started packing my small ruck sack supplies such as first aid kit and meal packets, while I doing that Matt was filling our canteens with water.

"Any of you packed?" I asked.

"We're only following a truck," Scotty paused in thought.

"I would pack if I were you," said Sarge to Scotty.

It was 1300 hours, the truck was rumbling closer. We set up an ambush point on the other side of scud route. The night was so cold you could see your breath. At about 1400 hours the truck was in the ambush zone. Following the truck was a land rover with a 50 cal. on it, there also were 10 guys in it, not to mention the gunner.

"10 guys to 5guys they out number us!" Scotty was going crazy.

As if this was a nightmare the 50cal. opened up on us. "Take cover!" Sarge screamed to us. I found a crack three feet by four feet and rolled in it. My saw machine gun was spitting bullets like angry hornets. The 50cal. was also spitting bullets, but they were hitting the ground and spraying dirt into my face. One by one the soldiers were hitting the ground.

"Scotty see if you can hit the gunner!" Sarge was yelling at him.

" I’ll try to hit him, I don’t think I can," Scotty replied.

With one lucky shot, Scotty had hit the gunner in the chest. The firefight was over. "Scotty, Matt check the truck, John, Charlie take the land rover," Sarge barked. As Charlie and I went to the land rover, I got to think what we were doing. We were hijacking the cars! "Sarge you better come see this!" Matt yelled over. Sarge rushed over to the truck.

" Holy cow!" said Sarge. What he was looking at was a SCUD missile and a big one at that. "Everyone get in the trucks, we’re taking them." Sarge barked again.

With that the trip began. The trucks began at a slow rumbling. We drove for 2 hours into the night. "Hey, where are we going?" Matt barked into a CB radio.

"We’re going to the LZ (Landing Zone)." Sarge answered.

The sun was just coming up on the mountain range. "Sarge we have company coming!" I yelled in the old CB radio.

"Where?" Sarge answered, looking confused but already plotting his move.

"4 o’clock on the left." I paused in thought " I think we can avoid them if we turn right and head down the gully."

"I’ll go down to it and see how steep the walls are." With that the land rover sped away with Sarge. I kept the MSL on course until Sarge radioed me. The truck didn’t want to turn so I turned the wheel hard right and the truck skidded toward the scout vehicle instead.

" When I say jump you jump," I yelled at Matt, he looked at me as if I where crazy but he nodded in response. The truck was locking its breaks trying to stop. "JUMP!" I yelled and the two of us flew out the open door.

BOOM! SSSSSSS! BOOM! The noise was deafening metal was flying in all directions.

"Are we dead?" groaned Matt lifting his head out of the sand.

"I don’t know." I said to him. Just then I heard the faint sound of a truck. "I don’t think we are but we will in a couple of minutes" I said looking for cover.

"John is that Sarge?" Matt asked looking toward the gully. I turned my head and looked, squinting my eyes against the bright sun.

"It is him!" Matt jumped up and started waving at the truck. And with that I too jumped up and began to wave.

"Matt, I don’t think that’s Sarge." I said squinting my eyes for a better look. The truck looked different it was boxy, higher off the ground and tan, the other truck was olive drab. "HOLY CRUD!" I yelled, "That’s a Hum-V!" I was relieved to know that the truck was American.

The truck skidded to a halt and Sarge jumped out. By the look on his face I could see he was pleased with Matt and me.

"So where did you get the Hum-V?" I asked in a curious voice.

"We found it in the gully." Sarge replied.

We ate our last meal in Afghanistan and heard the news that we had taken Kabul from Taliban troops. The Chinook came to pick us up. We were going home to America.

                                       Click here to go to Chris's index